A bum ankle, the remnants of a spiral fracture in his lower left leg nine months earlier, already placed Moya’s football career on hold.

A family crisis also put his education on hold. It built an even stronger bond within his immediate family, but it kept the quiet but intense Moya from his extended family, namely his UCLA teammates.

So as the Bruins sit at 1-3, clearly disappointed with the direction the season took after a season-opening upset of Tennessee, Moya sheepishly smiles at what he is experiencing.

“I think when I had all that time off, it takes a toll on you,” Moya said. “You miss the game. You miss being out there and you want to do everything you can to help. I’m a competitive guy and losing is hard, but if people ask me if I’m happy, yes I’m happy, because I’m out on the field.”

The fourth-year junior tight end’s return was felt immediately when he made a career-high seven catches, including one for the go-ahead touchdown with 27 seconds left against the Volunteers.

He already has a career-high 16 receptions for 151 yards, both second on the Bruins, and is UCLA’s top tight end after Logan Paulsen broke his foot in the opener.

“Being out there is enough for me right now,” Moya said. “Obviously, I have goals with the way that I’m playing, but ultimately, I’m just glad to be out there right now.”

Even with the losing streak, which could end Saturday against prohibitive underdog Washington State, Moya’s emotions changed dramatically from a year ago.

The adversity is traced back to October 2006, when a seemingly benign tackle resulted in a broken left leg. As his injured leg healed and Moya pushed with his rehab, he experienced pain in his ankle, a few inches below the break.

By summer, Moya was worried about his status for the season, but in late July 2007 concerns about his football career were supplanted by a family medical crisis.

After talking with his family and UCLA’s coaching staff, Moya left UCLA to spend the fall at his family’s El Dorado Hills home, located 30 miles east of Sacramento.

“It was such a conflict for him because he needed to be home with his family, but at the same time he loves the game,” said one of Moya’s closest friends, UCLA reserve tight end Adam Heater. “Football is real important to us. It’s what we’re here for, but at the same time family comes first and you have to take care of that.”

Even as he dealt with the personal matter, his own angst grew because of his non-healing injury. After enduring months of pain without substantive answers, Moya learned he had a sheared tendon in the back of his ankle and bone spurs and scar tissue in the front. Shortly after watching UCLA’s season-opening win at Stanford, he underwent arthroscopic surgery.

“After the surgery, I felt better almost immediately,” Moya said. “That’s when I was able to start (working out), and I had a really good trainer I was going to every day. I had to restructure my body because I spent almost a year without lifting weights with my legs.”

His ankle was better and the family matter was progressing nicely, but Moya felt a sense of helplessness.

Saturdays were spent in front of the television watching UCLA’s season unravel between injuries and incompetence. Moya said he turned off several games before the conclusion because of frustration at not being able to help, although somewhat remarkably, Moya watched every snap of the Bruins’ 44-6 loss at Utah last season.

But disconnect with UCLA grew as the season progressed and the losses mounted.

“If you’re a competitor and you feel like you can help, then it is really hard to watch,” Moya said. “There were games when I said, `Whoa, too hard to watch.’ We were struggling on offense and I knew I could contribute.”

Moya, quiet by nature, reached out to a few teammates. Injured players, even when they rehab on campus and watch practice, often feel estranged from the team. Moya was trying to remain connected while bridging a 400 mile gap.

“He’s one of the most competitive guys I know,” Heater said. “You go play a basketball pickup game, in the weight room, running sprints, he’s trying to win it. I know it was tough for him because he knew he had to be home, but at the same time he knew he could help (UCLA), and that was frustrating part for him.”

There were even times, especially after head coach Karl Dorrell was fired, Moya contemplated transferring. He chose UCLA over California and Boise State, but admitted he thought about leaving the Pac-10 last fall.

“There were some times where I started thinking about that,” Moya said. “But the whole time I was debating back and forth, I always ended up back here. I just wanted to finish what I started.”

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